Dishwasher appliances generally include a tub that defines a wash compartment. Rack assemblies can be mounted within the wash compartment of the tub for receipt of articles for washing. Spray assemblies within the wash compartment can apply or direct wash fluid towards articles disposed within the rack assemblies in order to clean such articles. Multiple spray assemblies can be provided including e.g., a lower spray arm assembly mounted to the tub at a bottom of the wash compartment, a mid-level spray arm assembly mounted to one of the rack assemblies, and/or an upper spray assembly mounted to the tub at a top of the wash compartment.
Conventionally, the lower and mid-level spray assembles are equipped with spray arms and are configured to rotate in only one direction—i.e. clockwise or counter clockwise—but not both. As such, during cleaning operations, articles placed into e.g., a lower rack assembly are sprayed with wash and rinse fluids as the spray arms rotate past the rack in the same direction. Depending upon the orientation of articles, rotation that is fixed in only one direction may limit the ability of a particular pair of spray arms to direct a spray of fluid onto all surfaces of the article—particularly interior surfaces—which in turn can affect the cleaning ability of the appliance. Thus, a dishwashing appliance equipped with a spray arm assembly such as e.g., a lower spray arm assembly that can be caused to rotate in multiple directions (i.e. clockwise and counter clockwise) would be useful.
A dishwashing appliance is typically equipped with at least one pump for circulating fluid through the spray assemblies. However, due to e.g., government regulations on energy and/or water usage, the pump may not be able to supply fluid to all spray assemblies at the same time. A dishwashing appliance that can be configured to selectively control the flow through different spray assemblies would be useful. In addition, such a device that can also provide for selective control over the direction of rotation of a spray arm assembly that can rotate in more than one direction would also be useful.